Writing tray for business case



Nov. 23, 1965 J. DONALD ETAL 3,219,159

WRITING TRAY FOR BUSINESS CASE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 20, 1965 ,uhuu u I I 3 I I 34 as 0 32 30 30 1 .32 F791 0 3| 32 3o 35 34 rr 3 ,n ,1, h 0: I :1,: 5 2 so 31 32' 36 $4 3' 3| :2 3s 34 N3 F/.8.

23 22 I2 n m F79. 4.

24 ll u ze la F/. .9.

INVENTORS. JAMES DONALD United States Patent 3,219,159 WRITING TRAY FOR BUSINESS CASE James Donald, Denver, and John Richard Sandburg,

Littleton, (1010., assignors, by mesne assignments, to

Samsonite Corporation, Denver, (3010., a corporation of Colorado Filed May 20, 1963, Ser. No. 281,416 3 Claims. (Cl. 190-16) This invention relates to a writing tray, and more particularly to a writing tray adapted to be used in a business or attach case.

Among the objects of this invention are to provide a novel writing tray for a business case or the like; to provide such a writing tray which is light in weight; to provide such a writing tray which is strong and will not easily bend during use; to provide such a writing tray which provides a flat writing surface; and to provide such a writing tray which has a minimum thickness consonant with its strength.

Additional objects and the novel features of this invention will become apparent from the description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a writing tray constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the writing tray of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the writing tray of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a lateral section of the writing tray of FIG. 1, taken along line 44 thereof and also showing in phantom the manner in which the writing tray may be mounted in a business case;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section, taken along line 55 of FIG. 1, but showing only an upper section of the writing tray;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section, also taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1, but showing only a lower section of the writing tr-ay;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section, taken along line 77 of FIG. 1, but showing only the upper section of the writing tray;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal section, also taken along line 77 of FIG. 1, but showing only the lower section of the writing tray; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary section, taken along line 99 of FIG. 1, showing certain details of construction of the upper section of the writing tray.

In accordance with this invention, a writing tray is provided which is adapted to be used in the business case disclosed in the copending application of Willard G. Axtell, Melvin H. Best and Clair A. Samhammer, Serial No. 266,683, now abandoned. filed March 20, 1963. The writing tray comprises an upper section U which may be superimposed over and attached, as by adhesive, to the lower section or base B, both of which may be molded from a suitable plastic, such as polystyrene or an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer.

The upper section U has a flat, generally rectangular, upper surface 10, as in FIGS. 1 and 4 which is conveniently covered with a layer 11 of vinyl, or other suitable plastic material, as in FIGS. 5, 7 and 9, but omitted from FIGS. 1 and 4 for clarity of illustration. The vinyl layer 11 provides a better writing surface, on which paper does not slide as readily, and also may provide a color contrast for decorative purposes, as well as being imprinted with a desired pattern, such as a pebble grain finish or a leather simulating pattern. Surface is surrounded by a raised border 12 having a flange 13 depending from the rear edge and side flanges 14 and 15 which depend from the side edges and are integral with 3,219,159 Patented Nov. 23, 1965 rear flange 13, extending approximately two-thirds of the distance to the front edge, i.e., to the rear edges of outer ledges 16 and 17 of FIGS. 1 and 3. Side flanges 18 and 19 depend from the outer edges of ledges 16 and 17, respectively, corresponding in contour to such outer edges, as shown. The offset in the sides of the writing tray is provided to accommodate the movement of the friction linkage mechanism of the business case, as described in the above-mentioned application, Serial No. 266,683, when the writing tray is mounted in the case. A front ledge 20, which is slightly raised above ledge 16, extends inwardly from the forward end of ledge 16, as in FIG. 3, to a recess 21, which facilitates lifting the writing tray out of the business case. Similarly, an opposite front ledge 22 extends from the forward end of ledge 17 inwardly to recess 21, but is spaced slightly above ledge 17. As in FIGS. 1-3, front flanges 23 and 24 depend from the front edge of front ledges and 22, respectively, while depending oblique flanges 25 and 26 and a central depending front flange 27 form the recess 21.

The upper horibontal surface of base B, which fits into the upper section U, conveniently comprises a series of equally spaced rectangles 29, as in FIG. 2, each of which has depending end flanges 30, as in FIGS. 6

, and 8, and depending side flanges 31, as in FIG. 4.

Flanges 30 and 31 extend downwardly to a connected series of spaced, lateral ribs 32 and spaced longitudinal ribs 33, to form what may be termed a honeycomb structure with rectangular openings therein, as in FIG. 2. A lower border 34, which is preferably offset below ribs 32 and 33, is connected to the ends of the ribs by an inner, upstanding flange 35, which also extends to the peripheral rectangles 29, as in FIGS. 4, 6 and 8. Lower border 34 extends around the honeycomb structure and KS provided with an outer or peripheral, upstanding flange 36 which fits within the depending flanges of the upper section, with rectangles 29 of base B engaging the underside of upper section U, as in FIG. 4, and will as will be evident from visually superimposing FIG. 5 on FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 on FIG. 8. As in FIG. 2 the honeycomb structure may be wider at the front than at the rear, so that border 34 may have the same width all the way around, except at the position of front recess 21, although the border 34 may, if desired, vary in width. Conveniently, border 34 is provided at the rear with a pair of spaced slots 37 and 38, for a purpose described below. When the base B and upper section U are fitted together, flange 36 of the base is secured to the corresponding flanges of the upper section by a suitable adhesive. As will be evident, the peripheral flanges 36 of base B may surround the peripheral depending flanges of the upper section U, although producing a less attractive appearance. The hollow, honeycomb structure of the writing tray permits the thickness of the writing tray to be reduced to a minimum, with a relatively low total weight, since the thickness of the molded parts may be comparatively small, such as on the order of 0.030 inch. However, due to the abutment of rectangles against the underside of upper surface 10 and the box constructions supporting each rectangle, provided by depending flanges 30 and 31 and ribs 32 and 33, the tray provides suflicient strength to permit a great deal of force to be exerted on the writing surface without bending.

As disclosed in the aforesaid application Serial No. 266,683, slots 37 and 38 permit the inner edge of the writing tray to be placed on spaced hooks, such as hook 39 of FIG. 4, which may be attached to the peripheral frame 40 for shell 41 of the business case, as by a rivet 42. The lower edge of each front flange 23 and 24 is adapted to engage an abutment 43, mounted on a latch structure 44 on the opposite side of the business case, for support during use, as well as to prevent the writing tray from becoming wedged in the adjacent compartment of the case. The writing tray may also be readily removed from the case, if desired, and may be pivoted upwardly on hooks 39 for placing in or removing papers or the like from the adjacent compartment of the case,

From the foregoing, it will be evident that a writing tray constructed in accordance with this invention fulfills to a marked degree the objects hereinbefore set forth. Thus, a writing tray has been provided which is strong, yet is light in weight, and has a minimum thickness, consonant with strength, so as to take up little space in a business or attache case. The writing tray provides a flat writing surface but will not bend readily during use, due to the abutment of the upper rectangles of the base with the underside of the upper section and the box like constructions supporting the rectangles.

Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been illustrated and described, it will be understood that various changes and variations may be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A writing tray for a business case or the like, comprising:

an upper section having a flat Writing surface, a raised border extending around said writing surface, a depending peripheral flange and a ledge below said border and extending outwardly from a portion of each side and from the front of said border, said ledge having an inwardly offset recess in the front thereof and said peripheral flange extending downwardly from the outer edge of said ledge and from the remainder of the outer edge of said border; and a base interfitting with and attached to said upper section, said base having an upstanding peripheral flange fitting the peripheral flange of said upper section and an irregular configuration, including portions disposed at spaced positions and abutting the underside of said upper section.

2. A Writing tray for a business case or the like, as defined in claim 1, wherein the portion of said ledge along the front of said border is offset upwardly from the portions of said ledge at each side of said border.

3. A writing tray for a luggage case, as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said border of said base is provided with a pair of spaced slots adapted to receive spaced hooks mounted in a luggage case, for pivotally mounting said writing tray in said luggage case.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,191,765 7/1916 Crumbaugh 20-91 1,979,902 11/1934 Potter et a1. 211153 2,545,845 3/1951 Du Batto et a1. 2,680,325 6/1954 Berman 312231 X 2,699,599 1/1955 Potchen 20-91 6 FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, Examiner. 

1. A WRITING TRAY FOR A BUSINESS CASE OR THE LIKE, COMPRISING: AN UPPER SECTION HAVING A FLAT WRITING SURFACE, A RAISED BORDER EXTENDING AROUND SAID WRITING SURFACE, A DEPENDING PERIPHERAL FLANGE AND A LEDGE BELOW SAID BORDER AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM A PORTION OF EACH SIDE AND FROM THE FRONT OF SAID BOARDER, SAID LEDGE HAVING AN INWARDLY OFFSET RECESS IN THE FRONT THEREOF AND SAID PERIPHERAL FLANGE EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE OUTER EDGE OF SAID LEDGE AND FROM THE REMAINDER OF THE OUTER EDGE OF SAID BORDER; AND A BASE INTERFITTING WITH AND ATTACHED TO SAID UPPER SECTION, SAID BASE HAVING AN UPSTANDING PERIPHERAL FLANGE FITTING THE PERIPHERAL FLANGE OF SAID UPPER SECTION AND AN IRREGULAR CONFIGURATION, INCLUDING PORTIONS DISPOSED AT SPACED POSITIONS AND ABUTTING THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID UPPER SECTION. 